Spying on Cucco Boy
by JesusLover13
Summary: Romani wants to know more about the mysterious boy who works at the Cucco Shack, so, she talks a certain hero into spying with her. She'd always been good at causing trouble, but she's never done anything like this.
1. Chapter One

**I'm glad to finally be posting this. It was an idea I had a while back and I didn't start writing it until the other night. It turned out a lot better than I'd imagined. It was originally supposed to be a one shot, but I felt like it would be too long if it was. So... multi-chapter it is. ^_^**_  
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**I've been unsure about what to write for Life In Termina, so this gives me a nice break while I figure out exactly where I want that to go. I just love writing stories about Grog! He's always been my favorite LoZ character for some reason. :P I love fanfictions about him! ^_^**

**Anyway, in this story, Link is younger, around Romani's age. I hope y'all enjoy it! :)**

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_Spying On Cucco Boy_

**Chapter One.**_  
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The bright sun shone down on Romani Ranch, causing the peaceful area to look almost as cheerful as the smile on Romani's face as she chased Link around the ranch. She knew very well that he was faster than her, but he always ran a little slower just so she'd have a fair chance.

Of course, she was good at shooting and talking about aliens, but he seemed to be better at just about everything else. Except talking. He had never been too good about that. At least not in her opinion.

Lately, in his spare time, he'd been spending a lot more time with the young farm girl. Her sister was always busy with work, so she couldn't spend a lot of time with Romani. But Link always seemed to find time and both girls loved him for it.

However, Link and Romani had almost run out of things to play. Romani loved to make up games, but they had already played all of her favorite games. And it's not like Link would have suggested any new ones even if he were a chatterbox, like her.

She laughed and stopped chasing him, trying to catch her breath. "What should we do now, Grasshopper?"

He smiled that bright smile of his as he jogged back over to her and shrugged.

She rolled her eyes. "Maybe we could play the cow trick on Cremia," the redhead suggested.

Link shook his head. "We already have," he pointed out, "and it scared her enough the first time."

Romani giggled with mischievous delight. "We could go play with the dogs."

Link shook his head at that as well. The dogs had never been too fond of Romani. "We could play cards," he suggested. He figured Cremia would be very pleased if he helped calm Romani down before it got too much later. The girl was always so hyper. Not only that, but Link figured that he might, just _might _get another hug from Cremia if he did a good deed. His face went scarlet just thinking about it.

Suddenly, Romani turned back to Link, an idea already in the making. "No. Cards are boring. Let's do something fun."

"Like what?" asked the Hylian boy warily.

"Like spying on Cucco Boy." She smirked.

"Who?"

"Cucco Boy. You know, that lonely guy who always sits by himself with the cuccos?"

"Why would we spy on him?" Link questioned.

"Because... Haven't you ever wondered why he's so... creepy?"

Truthfully, Link had never seen Grog as creepy. Maybe he was just misunderstood. "Uh... not really."

"Well, I have." Romani looked sure of herself this time. "We're going to go spy on him."

"I'm not so sure this is a good idea, Romani. We don't want him _or _Creamia getting angry at us if we're caught."

"You worry too much, Grasshopper. Besides, don't you want to have some fun?"

Link sighed. There really was no changing her mind. She was far too persistent. "Fine."

"Come on."

* * *

The cuccos hopped around happily. All of them seemed to doing well. They enjoyed being around each other, but even more so, they liked being with Grog. They could tell he really cared about them.

He sat under his favorite tree, as always, just watching them as the day went on. His mother had once told him that it was a waste of time to sit around all day just to watch a bunch of cuccos, but he really enjoyed it. It was the only thing that made him happy. He felt better when he was around them, like maybe the world wasn't as bad as he'd always thought.

And with the cuccos, he found what he couldn't find anywhere else: acceptance.

Those cuccos didn't judge him because of how he looked, how he acted, or who he was. They accepted him without question and that was all he had ever wanted from anyone. So, he didn't care what anyone else thought. He was happy where he was.

* * *

"He doesn't do much," Romani commented in a whisper.

Link nodded in agreement. The pale teen had only been sitting there the whole time, oblvious to the two children spying on him from behind a few boxes.

"All he does is watch cuccos all day," she went on. "What's wrong with him?"

Link shrugged. He, admittedly, had always been curious about Cucco Boy, but he'd never been so curious that he actually felt like spying on the dude.

The hero was just so sure that the two of them would get caught, though. They wouldn't, of course, if this was one one of his famous missions to help save a land haunted by troubles. But since it wasn't, he figured they'd be caught in no time.

"Maybe we should go back to the stable," he told her.

"Since when were you so boring?" she asked. "Spying is important to Romani and you're usually good at it."

"Yes, but that's when we're spying on cows or Them. Spying on a person for no good reason seems like an invasion of privacy."

"No," the girl insisted. "I want to learn more about this Cucco Boy mystery. There has to be a reason why he never does anything other than sit under that tree."

"You're right," Link said, trying to get more enthusiastic about their "mission" to make Romani feel better.

"Romani is always right," she corrected. "Now, just sitting behind these boxes isn't helping our mission. We need to find out more about Cucco Boy." She stood up. "Follow my lead."

Link hesitantly stood and followed Romani off of the porch-like thing they were on and over to Grog.

Grog looked up as they apporached him, his face emotionless and his eyes so colorless that they almost scared the farm girl.

"Hi," she greeted the teen, sounding nearly _too _innocent.

Grog nodded at her.

"Grasshopper and Romani are just here to play with the cuccos. You don't mind, do you?"

He shook his head, causing Romani to roll her eyes.

"Jeez, Grasshopper, he talks less than _you _do," she muttered.

Link raised his eyebrows and headed over to a random group of cuccos. Romani followed him. "So, what's your plan?" he whispered.

"Well," she began, glancing over her shoulder at Grog, "I figured since he sees us, he'll have to start up a conversation. Because, seriously, who can _purposely _ignore two sweet little kids?" She batted her eyelashes at the hero.

"I guess you're right..." He wouldn't tell her, but he'd actually met a lot of people who had the ability to ignore "sweet" little kids. It wouldn't be all that surprising if the cucco caretaker did the same.

When Romani noticed that she truly _was _being ignored as she stood near the cuccos, she finally walked over to Cucco Boy and stood directly in front of him, looking around the area as though she didn't notice he was there.

He looked up at her, confused, but hung his head again and went back to his lonely thoughts.

She inwardly sighed at this seemingly hopeless cause and began to hum, rather loudly. Link rolled his eyes, wondering if the people in Kakariko Village could hear her.

Grog didn't even look up this time and Romani let out an exasperated sigh.

He finally, reluctantly, looked up at her.

"Some people are just so rude!" she told him angrily before turning on her heel to leave. "Come on, Grasshopper. Let's go."

Link slowly went to follow her, passing Grog and mouthing, "Sorry."

"Grasshopper!" Romani yelled. "Hurry up!"

He walked a bit faster and the two of them exited the Cucco Shack.

"He doesn't talk _at all!_" Romani said loudly. Link barely had time to shut the door behind them. "What's his problem, anyway? Two cute little kids show up and he can't even manage a 'hello'?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "What do we have to do to get him to speak?"

Link raised his eyebrows. "Talk to _him,_ maybe?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "We tried that." She sighed. "Come to think of it, I've never heard him say one word. Not only that, but he's always acting really weird."

"It's not that big a deal," Link told her. "Maybe you're overthinking things."

"No." She shook her head stubbornly. "Romani is not overthinking things. We're definitely going to get to the bottom of this, no matter what."

Link was suddenly worried. Knowing Romani, she would make up some crazy plan. This couldn't be good. Especially not if it could offend Grog or even make Cremia mad.

"I have an idea," the girl said after a moment of thinking. "But you _can't _tell Cremia."

Link sighed. _Great._

"Also, I know what's wrong with Grog."

"What?" Link asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"He's lovesick!" she proclaimed. That, truthfully, was the last thing the boy had expected to hear. "How else would you explain why he only spends all his time with the cuccos? He's upset and lonely because he has no one to love!"

"What gave you that idea?"

"It's just obvious," she explained. "Anyway, I can't tell you my plan, but I _can _tell you that we're going back in there."

Link opened his mouth to politely protest, but Romani had already dashed into the Cucco Shack. He raced after her. Maybe he could stop her before she said anything unneccessary.

By the time he reached her, she was already standing in front of Grog again, frantically waving her arms around as she spoke. "I would be in _so _much trouble if my sister knew I was telling you this!" she was saying. "But I have to tell you now or you'll never know!"

Grog looked confused, but didn't say anything.

Link's eyes widened. This couldn't be good.

"Cremia is in love with you!"

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading! Review if you like it, please! ^_^**


	2. Chapter Two

**Hi! :D I decided I'd update this today instead of procrastinating. I really like updating and stuff. I should probably do that more often. :P  
**

**Anyway, I've decided this story is set before the Anju and Kafei thing ever happens. Even before Kafei was turned into a child. I'm not sure if he'll even appear in this story, but he will definitely be mentioned.**

**Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate all of you and you're all awesome. I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! :D**

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**Chapter Two.**

Grog hadn't anything the day Romani had told him about Cremia being love with him. What _could _he say? And even if he had said anything... was he in love with _her?_

Also, why had that little girl wanted to tell him such a thing? Did Cremia want her to? Or had she simply wanted to spread a rumor?

His head hurt just thinking about it, and it only made matters worse when Cremia walked over to him just as he was leaving the Cucco Shack for the day.

His eyes went wide and he could feel his face heating up.

"Oh. Hi, Grog," she greeted with a smile. She actually had a nice smile, now that he noticed it. "I'm just going to check on the cuccos. I haven't seen them in a while." She glanced up at him from where she was unlocking the door to the Cucco Shack. "Are you okay?"

He nodded quickly, willing himself to stop blushing. This was ridiculous. He probably looked like an idiot, anyway.

"Are you _sure?_" she questioned, studying his face. "Your face is really red. Are you sick?"

"No," he answered, a bit too quickly.

She narrowed her eyes at him. It was weird to see his usually pale face such an unnatural shade of red. "You might be running a fever."

"I'm not sick," he assured her, looking away to avoid thinking about how pretty her eyes actually looked.

She had pure worry written all over her face. "Grog, really, if you need to take a few days off to rest, it'll be okay. My father would be upset if I forced someone to work when they weren't feeling well."

Grog only shrugged this time, realizing that there was no convincing her. She smiled brightly before walking into the Cucco Shack, leaving Grog to deal with his confused feelings alone.

"Oh." She returned to the doorway. "I hope you get well soon." She smiled softly and winked at him before heading back inside to check on the cuccos.

She had _winked _at him. Maybe Romani was right.

* * *

"Cremia!" Romani called. "Grasshopper is here!" She skipped over to the door and opened it, only to find a smiling Link standning there. "Hey, Grasshopper," she greeted. "I'm glad you could come for dinner."

Link nodded at her. "Yeah. Thanks." He headed inside and followed Romani to the table. They both took their seats as Cremia emerged from the other room, holding a tray of steaming food.

Link grinned. Just smelling her food made his mouth water.

"Hi, Link." She offered him a smile, sitting the large tray in the middle of the table before taking her place across from the children.

Link opened his mouth to thank her for letting him come when he remembered just what he and Romani had done. And just how much trouble they'd be in when she found out. He closed his mouth and lowered his head.

"Are you praying, Grasshopper?" Romani asked, incredulously. "I didn't know you prayed!"

Link shrugged, reaching across the table to get some food to put on his plate.

"So, how was your day, Romani?" Cremia asked with a kind smile.

"It was great! Romani and Grasshopper went to the Cucco Shack and w-" She stopped when Link kicked her under the table. "Ouch!"

Cremia looked at the two of them like they were crazy, but only went back to eating. "Speaking of the Cucco Shack... Grog looks kind of sick. His face was red today. I don't know what's going on with him."

"See? I told Grasshopper that Grog was _love_s-"

Link kicked her again. They couldn't tell Cremia about this. If they did, they were sure to get in trouble. Although, considering what Cremia had said about the strange boy's face being red, maybe Romani hadn't been too far from the truth.

"_Ow!_" Romani shot Link a glare this time.

Link gave her a look that said not to tell Cremia _anything._

She crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly.

Cremia rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I was thinking of giving him some time off. If he is sick, he'll need time to recover. So, I was thinking you two could-"

"No!" her sister interrupted. "We can't... I mean... You shouldn't..."

Cremia raised her eyebrows the little girl. "Romani, I know you don't want to watch after the cuccos, but that's no excuse to be so selfish. If he needs some time away from the ranch, we should give it to him."

"It's not that," Link spoke, before Romani could get another word in. "It's just that he isn't sick. We were just talking to him today. He... well, uh... he said that... it's getting too hot outside. He just had sunburn, that's all."

Cremia narrowed her eyes at them. "Really? Because he looked fine this morning when he came to work. And it's the middle of _winter._"

"That doesn't mean the sun doesn't shine," Romani countered.

Cremia nodded slowly. "True..." She didn't know what was going on, but there was definitely something odd about this situation.

After dinner, Romani and Link headed upstairs to talk. Link was beyond frustrated.

"We can't keep lying to your sister," he told the farm girl. He hoped she'd understand. The lies could go too far. And for all they knew, Grog had believed what they'd said about Cremia being in love with him.

"Grasshopper!" Romani shouted. "You can't just give up! We haven't even found out why Cucco Boy is so weird! How will we ever find out if you quit?"

"It's too risky. We could get in trouble. Cremia will be furious. And what about Grog? He'll be crushed when he finds out she has no feelings for him!"

"Unless..." A mischievous smirk appeared on the redhead's face and she put a finger to her chin, thinking.

Link began shaking his head immediately. "_No, _Romani. Definitely not. It's bad enough already."

She nodded her head slowly, the smirk growing wider. "Yes. That's a great idea. Hmm." Coming out of her thoughts, she smiled her bright smile at him. "Don't worry, Grasshopper, nothing bad will happen."

"What ever happened to just _spying _on Grog, huh? Wouldn't that be a lot simpler? Why is it so important that he thinks she's in love with him?"

"Because _if _he thinks she's in love with him, he'll open up. Love makes everyone crazy. Haven't you heard? Then, his true colors will come out and we'll get to find out just who this Cucco Boy really is!" She rubbed her hands together as if she were a villain in a cheesy movie. "Besides, he won't just _think _she's in love with him after this."

Link's blue eyes went wide. He was silent for a few moments. "What do you mean?"

"He'll _know _she's in love with him." She stood on her tiptoes a bit to put an arm around Link's shoulder. "Grasshopper? Are you ready to play matchmaker?"

* * *

Why was he allowing himself to get dragged into this? Was he simply so bored with taking a break from his adventures that he had to get into some sort of trouble? Did he enjoy difficult situations? Or was it the fact that he was way too far into Romani's devious scheme that he could no longer back out?

Whatever it was, Link was beyond worried about what was going on in his head. He had no idea what had caused him to agree to all of this, but he knew he needed to fix it - and soon.

Romani's plan was getting more and more complicated each and every day, but she had assured him multiple times that it would work.

Grog might have been lovesick, and maybe he would fall for anything, but Cremia wasn't like that. She could be skeptical and tough at times. That's what he was mainly worried about. She wouldn't fall for these tricks. She was too smart. She'd see right through this plan in a matter of seconds.

And Link would probably end up with most of the blame. Especially since Romani asked _him _to go talk to Cremia, while she went and tried squeeze even a few words out of Grog.

Link tried to look confident, yet bashful, as he entered Romani Ranch that morning, and headed over to Cremia, who was milking some cows. "Here goes nothing," he muttered to himself.

"Hey, Cremia," he said quietly, looking down at her as she crouched on the ground.

"Hi, Link." She smiled, but didn't look over at him. "Romani was hanging around the stable last time I saw her."

"Okay," he replied. "But... I'm here to talk to you..."

Her eyebrows went up and she turned away from the cow. "All right. What's going on?"

"Nothing much. I just have a question about something personal." His face went red when she grinned. He hated lying to her. She was so kind and caring. How could he be so cold hearted and lie to someone so entirely innocent? She had no idea what his plan was and he felt as though he was being unfair to her. "Well, I was wondering... What do you look for in a guy?"

She burst into a fit of laughter. She found it incredibly cute that he'd ask her such a thing. "I like tall guys," she began, hoping she wouldn't hurt his feelings. "Guys with deep, dark, mysterious eyes and long hair. And guys who have a great personality. They have to be caring, strong, smart." She laughed a bit. "Basically a prince charming. It doesn't sound realistic, but I know someone like that already."

Link didn't bother to ask who. He forced a smile. "Okay. Thanks!" He raced off across the ranch to find Romani before she could say anything else.

He found the girl's younger sister waiting outside the Cucco Shack. "Hey, Grasshopper." She waved at him. "What did you find out?"

"Well, it's not exactly what you were hoping to hear," he replied. "She likes guys with dark eyes and long hair. Grog's just about the polar opposite of that."

"Yeah. He has white eyes and that weird mohawk."

"Exactly. And she says she likes guys who are strong, smart, and caring. Is Grog any of those?"

"He doesn't look very strong. But he doesn't say enough for us to know if he's smart or caring."

"Well, does he have a great personality?"

Romani's eyes went wide. "_What _personality?"

Link sighed.

"Did she say anything else?" Romani questioned.

"Yeah. She says that the guy she was dreaming of was pretty much a prince charming-"

"Which Grog is definitely _not._"

"She also said that she already knew a guy like that. Any idea who she might have been talking about?"

Romani thought for a moment before she let out a long sigh. "Kafei."

"Oh. But isn't Anju going to marry Kafei soon?"

Romani nodded and Link shook his head.

"But that, Grasshopper, does give us more of a reason to set her up with Grog."

"Wait. _Set her up? _What are you talking about? I think we've done enough as it is."

She chuckled. "Silly, Grasshopper. You just don't seem to understand young love."

"It's not love if neither of them love each other," he corrected.

"Well, it's kind of one sided right now, but don't worry. Cremia will come around."

"One sided?" Link's eyebrows furrowed. "You think Grog has feelings for Cremia?"

"Yep. When I talked to him about Cremia, his face went thirteen shades of red and he smiled a bit. He definitely likes her."

"Like and love are two different things, Romani." Link had seen Anju and Kafei together. _That _was love. And what Cremia and Grog had? Well, that was merely a friendship - if even that.

"Not for long."

He gave her a questioning look.

She rolled her eyes. Boys could be so clueless. "We're going in there to tell Grog what Cremia looks for in a guy. If he wants to be with her, he'll be willing to change. Trust me on this."

Link wasn't so sure if he actually wanted to trust her. After all, this could get out of hand. But he decided that maybe it would be all right, at least for a little while.

He followed her into the Cucco Shack and the two of them made their way over to Grog.

He looked up at them as they approached.

"Hi, Grog," Romani said, putting an almost angelic smile on her face. "Remember what I said the other day about Cremia?"

He nodded, his face once again going red.

"Well... Cremia told us what she looks for in a guy."

"Was she talking about me?" Grog asked quietly, avoiding looking either of the children in the eyes.

Romani's face lit up. It was only five words, but it was five more words than she'd ever heard him say. "No," she answered. "But she said what she'd like you to be."

Link shot Romani a look and elbowed her. She was making Cremia sound so shallow. If Grog liked Cremia, he needed to know who she really was.

Romani politely ignored Link and kept talking, looking Grog up and down, "We clearly have a lot of work to do."

"What do you have in mind?" asked Link.

She smirked. "A makeover."

* * *

**I kind of feel bad for Grog. xD**

**So... what did you think? :) Let me know, please. ^_^**


	3. Chapter Three

**Hi! :D I wonder if anyone actually remembers this story... Sorry it's been so long since I updated it, but, honestly, I'd forgotten about it. My other stories had the majority of my attention. I finally finished this chapter today, though, and I actually like it. :) There should be one or two chapters left and then this shortish story shall be completed! ^_^**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and added this to their favorites! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! :D**

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**Chapter Three.**

Romani and Link had waited all day for Cremia to go inside. They knew she'd be cooking dinner for a while, so that gave them only an hour or two to work on Grog's makeover. He had protested, in his own, simple, quiet way, but Romani wouldn't take no for an answer. Even if Cremia didn't like him, the makeover was long overdue.

Link, not wanting to crush Romani's innocent dreams, decided to take her side on this one. It couldn't hurt Grog to change his style a little bit. And... at least this was all for the sake of love. Or lack thereof.

"All right," Romani began firmly. She was standing in front of Grog. They'd forced him to sit down on a chair in the stable and cooperate for the time being. By now, Romani had read him his rights (the ones she'd made up) and threatened to lock him out of the Cucco Shack forever if he didn't agree to this. This was a little of what she called progress. At least he wasn't complaining anymore. "Romani doesn't want to hear any whining. Got that? We're doing this for your own good and you'll ruin it if you argue." She took a deep breath. "Now, do you like Romani's sister or don't you?"

Grog seemed taken aback by the question and began mumbling a bit. "I... Well, I mean... I don't..."

"Don't like her?"

"No!" He sighed. "I just... don't really know her that well. She's not disgusting, and she's really nice, but we haven't talked a lot."

Romani rolled her eyes. "Well, _there's _a surprise. Look, that's the whole point of a date - to get to know someone. Now, if you're going to go on a date with Romani's sister, you'll need to look nice - and by that, I mean..." She motioned in whole to his... well, everything. "You need to look better than you do n-"

"Presentable," Link jumped in. "You need to look presentable."

Romani nodded, even though she had no clue what that word meant. "Exactly." She turned to her friend. "What do you think we should start with, Grasshopper? Clothes? Eyes? Hair?"

"Eyes?" Grog's hands immediately went to his face and worry creased his brow. "What are you going to do?"

"Don't _worry, _Cucco Boy. We've got this all under control." She grinned widely at him before glancing down at his feet. "We definitely need to do something about those shoes before the night's over, too."

Grog looked helplessly at Link, who only shrugged. "Maybe we should start with something easy - like the hair. The outfit should be last, since we don't want it to get ruined."

Romani snorted. "Romani hopes you know that's not possible. His outfit can never get _more _ruined."

Link shook his head. Why'd he ever agree to this? He started with Romani toward Grog. "Let's just get this over with."

* * *

An hour and a half later, they'd shaved the mohawk off of Grog's head (against his will), made his teeth almost as white as his eyes, picked him out a scarf for fun, changed his hideous shoes, put eyeliner around his eyes (because Romani thought it'd look amazing), and put fake eyelashes on him.

When Link had asked what the lashes were for, Romani simply explained, "Girls like guys with long eyelashes. Romani should know - she's a girl."

Grog stared ruefully at the two of them, just knowing he probably looked more than ridiculous. "Can I have a mirror now?" He was still upset about his hair, and all he really wanted to do right then was go back to the Cucco Shack and think for a little while.

Romani smiled brightly. "Sure! Dinner should be ready soon, though! Just stay like this for tonight and we can work on-"

She was interrupted by a knock on the door. Everyone froze. "Romani? Are you in there? Who are you talking to?" It was Cremia. She sighed audibly from outside. "Romani, are you talking to the cows again? I'm telling you, they're not going to respond. Not now, not ever."

Romani smothered a gasp, turning to face Link and Grog. "It's Cremia!" she mouthed, like they hadn't already figured that out. "Hurry! We need to act normal!"

Link's eyebrows furrowed. Sure. They'd look normal. Sitting in a stable giving Cremia's future date a makeover. That was normal.

"_Normal?_" Grog mouthed, looking incredulous. "I'm wearing fake _eyelashes. _How do I get them off?!"

Romani shook her head quickly. "No. You can't," she whispered. "Don't take them off until after the date."

Grog's eyes widened. "I have to work tomorrow! Don't you think someone's bound to-"

"Romani?" Cremia called again. "Why is the door locked? Will you open it already? Dinner's probably getting cold by now." She rattled the doorknob. "What are you doing in there? Let me in."

"Uh... coming!" Romani looked around, trying to think fast. She once again lowered her voice. "Grog, hurry! Kneel down in front of that hay over there! Pretend you're looking for something. Cremia can't see you now!"

Grog obediently knelt down in front of the hay after pulling the scarf away from his neck, promising himself he'd never go along with that kid's crazy schemes again.

She tossed a white sheet over his head, trying to hide him, before heading to the door and pulling it open. "Hi, Cremia!"

"Hi," Cremia responded slowly. "What are you doing in here?" She carefully scanned the room, spotting Link immediately. "Oh. Hello, Link. You're staying to play with Romani, right? Well, you're welcome to have dinner with us." She knew she couldn't keep feeding stray boys who showed up at her house, but she'd let Link be the exception - just this once. She opened her mouth to say more, but caught sight of Grog under the sheet before she could. "Uh... Grog? Is that you?"

He didn't answer at first, hoping she wouldn't notice him, but when she pulled the sheet off his head, he knew he had no choice but to reply. He swallowed hard. "Yeah. I, uh... dropped something. I was looking for it."

"Under a sheet in the stable?" she asked incredulously.

He nodded. "Yeah..."

She rolled her eyes. He'd quite obviously been spending too much time with Romani. "Well, we're about to eat dinner and you haven't even gone home yet. Would you like to join us?"

He was shocked by the offer, but still didn't turn around. He'd be beyond embarrassed if she saw the eyelashes and eyeliner. "I don't know..."

"It's no trouble, really," she assured him. "Link's planning on staying with us for dinner as well. We won't mind one extra person." When he remained silent, she punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Come on. It's fine as long as you don't go telling everyone in Termina that we give away free food to anyone who happens to pass by." She laughed.

He slowly stood, still not turning around. "I guess I will stay, then." He bowed, even though his back was still to her. "Thank you."

She found this rather odd, but nodded anyway and headed out of the stable.

"Let's go," Link told them, starting toward the exit.

Romani stared up at Grog with a blank expression on her face. "So... what, are you gonna sit with your chair backwards during dinner?"

Grog shot her a glare, clenching his hands into fists as he headed toward the house. This was Romani's fault. If she hadn't wanted to give him a makeover, this wouldn't be so bad.

Cremia had gone back into the kitchen by the time Link and the others took their seats at the table. "Okay," Romani said, looking at Grog. "Just try not to look Cremia in the eyes - maybe she won't notice."

Link knew she was bound to notice at some point, but he decided not to mention it. They were all innocent until proven guilty.

Grog made a point to lower his head, hoping Cremia wouldn't come back into the room anytime soon. "Can you tell?" he asked the kids sitting next to him.

Romani leaned forward trying to see if she could see the eyelashes from where she was sitting. "Hmm. Romani isn't sure. Maybe lower your head a bit more..."

Link rolled his eyes. "If he lowers it anymore, he won't have a neck."

She shot him an annoyed look. "Who asked you, Grasshopper?" She reached up at Grog's face, trying to see him better. They couldn't take any chances with Cremia noticing the eyelashes.

"What's going on?" Cremia asked, taking her place at the table. She stared suspiciously at all of the children. "Grog, is your eye okay?"

Romani jerked her hand away from his face.

"Huh?" He seemed caught off guard by the question and his gaze almost snapped up to meet hers. Thankfully, Romani elbowed him just in time and he quickly leaned down close to the floor.

This only caused Cremia even _more _confusion, if possible. "What happened?"

"Dropped my fork," Grog muttered. He should've known better than to trust those little kids.

"What? No you didn't. It's on your plate."

Romani sighed in exasperation while Link pretended to be interested in a dark spot on the ceiling.

"Oh." Grog sat up, a bit to quickly, only succeeding in hitting his head on the bottom of the table - hard. He drew in a breath through clenched teeth, sitting still for a moment to wait for the pain to subside.

Cremia stood up, going over to him. Something wasn't right. "Grog... Are you all right?"

"Yeah, fine." He closed his eyes, trying to decide what the next plan of action was. She was standing right next to him and she'd definitely figure it all out if he sat up now. If she liked him before, he was guaranteed that the crush was over now.

She put a gentle hand on his shoulder, glancing up at Romani and Link, who were being unusually quiet at a time like this. On any other day, Romani would've fallen out of her chair laughing at such a fiasco. "What's going on?"

Grog sighed. "Look... we've just... It's a long story, but-" He slowly sat up, but never got to finish, because that's when Romani did the worst thing possible.

She flicked cinnamon at his face - and most of it ended up in his eyes.

His eyes snapped shut and his head lowered again. He made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a wince before quickly getting to his feet.

"Romani!" Cremia shouted angrily. None of her sister's behavior made sense, but she found it impossible to handle that part of the situation while Grog could hardly see anything now. She reached out to help him, but he immediately turned away. "I'm _so _sorry! I don't know what's gotten into her! Are you okay?"

He nodded stiffly, trying not to start sneezing or anything like that. "I'm fine. Just..." He opened his eyes trying to rapidly blink some of the cinnamon out of them. "I'm allergic to cinnamon."

Romani took on an expression of disgust. "In your _eyes?_"

Cremia was quickly becoming outraged with her sister and Romani decided it was a good time to hide behind Link, who was already standing up.

"No," Grog tried to explain. His eyes were already starting to water and his tongue was beginning to feel weird. "Some of it went into my mouth. This isn't good..."

Cremia was quiet for a moment, trying to decide what she could do for him. "What can I do?" she questioned, sending Romani another killer glare. They would deal with this later.

"Medicine," Grog managed. His tongue was beginning to swell now and his eyes were watering quite a bit. He still refused to look up at her, even as he started toward the stairs. Maybe if he could just get to the bathroom, they'd have medicine for an allergic reaction like this one.

Cremia hurried after him. "Grog," she began, whirling him around to face her. It was then when she actually got a good look at his face. He was paler than normal and... Were those eyelashes?

She slowly turned around, her blood boiling when she realized what most of this was about. "Romani," she said through clenched teeth. "Tell. Me. What. You. Did."

Romani pushed Link in front of her. "It was all Link's idea!"

Grog sighed.

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**Romani just gets herself into so much trouble, doesn't she? xD**

**Let me know what y'all think! Thanks for reading! ^_^**


	4. Chapter Four

**Inspiration for this story strikes at random times, doesn't it? It's been far too long since I updated this, but my writer's block is over now and this is the next to the last chapter (unless chapter five ends up too long and I have to split it into two chapters)! I apologize for your wait, but this is the most fun I've had writing this story so far. ^_^ It gave me so many other plot bunnies and I'm hoping to chase them (after I finish Life in Termina and most of Beauty and the Stalfos, of course). Anywho, we're getting off subject. XD**

**Thanks to everyone who has favorited this story so far and thanks for everyone who has followed it as well! ^_^ Special thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter - all people I admire so much. :D Thanks to thisplaceilove, Chaos Wielder, Ceu Praca, and Violentjay. :)**

**I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! :D**

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**Chapter Four.**

"Will you be all right?"

Grog nodded. "Yeah." He had a hard time speaking, with his tongue swelling like it was, but he figured the medicine would kick in soon enough and he'd be back to normal. Thankfully, Cremia had helped him without asking too many questions about the eyelashes, eyeliner, and why he'd shaved his head. He could tell by the way she kept apologizing for her little sister, though, that Romani would be in big trouble once he left the house. Not only that, but he realized he probably looked like an idiot to her. So much for that date.

Cremia glanced up at the night sky. Stars twinkled above them and the moon shone brighter than usual, since it looked a bit closer to Earth now. The farm girl and Grog had gone outside to talk, since Romani had started yelling at Link five minutes ago, due to the fact he'd wanted to leave. "Listen," she began softly, "I don't know what's going on, or why my sister has been acting so strange lately, but . . ." She sighed, not really sure of what she wanted to say, exactly. "Just . . . don't try to be something you're not, Grog. Be yourself - you're a lot cooler that way." She smiled brightly. "Now, go get some rest. I'll come by the Cucco Shack to check on you tomorrow."

Grog blinked, for once wanting to say something and yet physically unable to do so. Cremia, the kindest, most amazing girl he'd ever met, really liked him when he was simply being _himself? _The self that loved cuccos more than life, the self that had an odd sense of fashion, the self that was allergic to cinnamon, the self that hardly ever talked to her, and yet admired her from afar? _That _self?

Although he had no idea how someone as amazing as her could ever say something so incredibly sweet to him, he couldn't protest, or agree, or even make sense of what was going through his mind at that moment. All he could do was blush and give her a short nod before heading toward the Cucco Shack to check on the cuccos one last time before going home.

Cremia's smile vanished the moment he turned away and thoughts of what her sister had done caused a dangerous spark to appear in her eyes. She yanked the front door open and stepped inside, placing her hands firmly on her hips. Her presence alone silenced both children and they stared at her, wide eyed.

"What was that all about?!" she questioned, not even sure where to begin. "You locked me out of the stable, caused Grog to hit his head, and then threw _cinnamon _in his _eyes?_ Really? Romani, you'd better have a great explanation for this, because, if he comes back tomorrow saying he wants to quit, I can guarantee you _you'll_ be working the shack _full time._"

Romani couldn't think of a time when she'd ever seen her older sister look so intimidating. It was a little scary. She'd never seen Cremia act so much like . . . a mom. She glanced at Link for help, but he successfully avoided her gaze. She turned back to the fiery eyed woman standing in front of the door. "Um . . . Well, it was-"

"And _what _was up with the eyeliner?" Cremia interrupted. "And the eyelashes? Where did you even _get _those?!"

Romani smirked. "I got them from one of your boxes in our room." She sounded proud, even though she surely wasn't helping her case. "You were out of eyelash glue, so I used some I found in the stable."

Cremia closed her eyes, silently counting to ten. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "No wonder Grog couldn't get those things off. Romani, you need to think before you do things like that!"

"But Romani did think!"

"Not about Grog, or how it could affect his eyes. Why'd he let you glue them onto his face, anyway?"

"We did it for the sake of love!" The moment those words slipped out of the young girl's mouth, a hand shot up to cover her lips, as though _that _would keep her from saying anything more. She could've accidentally blown their mission. Just because she was in trouble now, didn't mean it would all be over later. She still had a date to set up, other things to plan. If she allowed Cremia to know now, everything would be ruined.

The oldest of the siblings raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me? Love?"

Since Link was still making no effort to come up with a good alibi, Romani forced a cheerful smile onto her face. "Yeah! Love!" She glanced around the room for a moment, a good plan forming in her mind. "It's between . . . Romani and Grasshopper! We're in love!" Without warning, she wrapped her arms around Link's waist, squeezing him so tightly that he could hardly breathe for a moment. "Yep! Good ol' love! You might want to buy a Pictograph!This is great stuff!"

Cremia found _that_ ironic, especially judging by the way Link was trying to wriggle out of Romani's death grip. She stared at her little sister expectantly, for the truth, but Romani managed to keep her eyes closed and look completely happy to be suffocating Link. Cremia sighed. "All right. You guys have five seconds to tell me what's _really _going on, or I'll tell Grog he can give you two a complete makeover."

Romani let go of her green clad friend and, as he gulped in as much air as possible, she burst into the whole story, talking so fast that Cremia had to struggle to keep up. Everything had been cleared up in less than two minutes and Romani gave herself a mental pat on the back for saving Grasshopper's butt, as well as her own. No makeovers for them!

Cremia slowly took a seat at the table, trying to process all the information her younger sister had just blurted out. She knew kids could be crazy - and Romani crazier than most - but she'd had no idea the small girl was capable of causing such trouble within . . . what, a couple days? Poor Grog had been dragged into such a big fiasco and yet he was _still _clueless. It was at times like these when Cremia missed her father. He would've known what to do - how to handle Romani, how to break it to Grog, how to keep everything running smoothly while all heck seemed to be breaking loose. She sure wished she knew, though. That would make things a lot simpler.

Romani fidgeted nervously from where she sat across the table with Link. She could be grounded. Or forced to clean the toilets after Mamamu Yan used them. Both sounded like the worst things ever and Romani prayed she wouldn't have to do either. She still had so much to accomplish in her life.

"Link," Cremia began, feeling rather sorry for the blue eyed boy, if he, too, had been innocent, "did you even have anything to do with this?" She found it odd that Romani hadn't mentioned him during the story, but had a feeling that that was because her sister wanted the spotlight, not because Link wasn't involved at all.

Link opened his mouth to speak, but Romani beat him to the punch, "Oh, _yes. _Didn't Romani tell you? It was all Grasshopper's idea. Romani tried to tell him it was a no-no, but he insisted and she got dragged into the whole thing. It was tragic." She put on her best "I'm an angel" look and gave the puppy dog eyes. Link shot her a look that wasn't exactly an angel one.

Cremia crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at the children. She knew her sister was lying, but she also knew Link probably had a bit to do with what had happened as well, so she decided she wouldn't tell him he could leave. Not yet, at least.

Her older sister's silence torturing her, Romani jumped out of her chair. "Well? Are we in trouble or not?!"

"Oh, you're in trouble. Don't worry about that." Cremia gave them her in-charge look and they both seemed to cower under such a gaze. "Both of you are going to go to the Cucco Shack first thing in the morning and apologize to Grog. If he hasn't already, you're going to help him get the eyeliner off his face and give him his old shoes back. If the eyelashes won't come off, I'm going to glue a mustache to your face, Romani."

The child's face lit up like fireworks at the Carnival of Time. "That would be great!"

Cremia gave her the "You better shut up, or I'll send you to Ikana" look. She sighed, trying to think of some other things she should say at a time like this. "You also have to tell Grog the truth. He deserves to know. And no more making up stuff about me. Got that?"

"Wait!" Romani exclaimed, hurrying over to her sister. "No! We can't tell Grog the truth! If we do, all of this would be for nothing and he'll be _crushed!_"

"You'll be crushed if you ever do something like this again," Cremia said, trying to sound as firm as possible. "Romani, you know better than to tell lies. Not only that, but you already know you're in trouble. Your plan is just not going to happen."

"But you don't understand! It _has _to!"

"And why is that?"

"Grog likes you! Like, _really _likes you. We didn't force him into it." Not entirely, at least. "It was his choice to get a makeover. He's always liked you. And ever since he found out you liked him - well, sort of - he's been talking a bit more, and he agreed to everything, all on his own!"

Cremia sat still for a moment, thinking. Even if Romani was right (which wasn't likely), Grog would like her for the wrong reasons. He knew nothing about her and therefore had nothing to go by. She could be a terrorist for all he knew. And besides, there was no good reason to keep this thing going any longer. The truth needed to come out. Immediately. She stared into her sister's wide, blue eyes. "Listen, Romani," she began softly, hoping the younger girl would understand, "Grog doesn't really like me."

"He doesn't?" asked Link and Romani in unison.

She smiled. "No. He doesn't. He just thinks he does, because you two told him I'm in love with him. He likes me, because I'm the first girl who's liked him in a while. He doesn't love me. He doesn't know me."

"But that's the point!" Romani blew her fiery hair out of her eyes and smiled widely at her sister. "He _wants _to get to know you! He really does like you, sister! Romani promises! We can see it on his face! Right, Grasshopper?"

Link nodded, the smallest of smiles coming to his lips. He'd seen Anju and Kafei - he knew what love looked like after a long time. Now, picturing Grog's face as they talked about Cremia - he knew what the beginning of love looked like. Romani might have dragged him into a lot of crazy things, but she'd been right. For once.

Cremia looked from Romani to Link and back again, staying silent for the longest time. She didn't want them to be right. She didn't want to let them be right. And she _definitely _didn't want to think they were right and end up being wrong. She had no idea what to do. Little kids made everything complicated.

"Give him a chance, Cremia! Please!" Romani was practically begging. She wanted this to work out. Her plan was going so well - it couldn't end now. "I know he's a little strange, but who isn't?!" Her eyes twinkled as she grinned. This _had _to work. "He really, _really _likes you. And what would one date hurt? It's not like you're getting married!" Not yet, anyway. "Do it for the happiness of Cucco Boy. And two, sweet, innocent little kids!" She batted her eyes as though she wasn't the one in trouble.

Cremia shot her a look, but didn't say anything at first. After what felt like a long time, she finally said, slowly, "All right. But one date. There will be no movies, no hand holding, and definitely no kissing. Got that? So, whatever plans you had before, forget them. We're doing this _my_ way."

Romani raised her eyes, sighing obnoxiously. "Two things. One: Kissing is _gross _- EW! Who in their right mind would _plan_ that?! And two: You can have your rules, but Grasshopper and Romani will be setting everything up the way _we _want it."

"I don't really think you're in the position to be telling me what you are _going _to do."

Link, who'd been silent for almost the entire night, noticed the desperate expression on his friend's face, and spoke, "Please, Cremia. Just trust us."

If Romani or any other little kid Cremia had ever met had said "trust us," she would've run away screaming - with a helmet on her head for safety. But it was different with Link. He could be trusted. He may have been just a little boy, but he was wise beyond his years, and very mature as well. If one didn't trust him, they were crazy. "Fine," she said, a little nervous when she saw Romani's excited expression. "I trust you."

* * *

"I've never seen anything so beautiful, Grasshopper." The young, red headed girl wiped an imaginary tear from her blue eyes, smiling proudly at the work she and her best friend had accomplished in only one hour. She'd always known she was talented in a lot of areas, but she'd never before realized her knack for decorating and organizing something such as a date. Someone should really pay her for this.

Link smiled softly. No one would be able to recognize the sisters' house if they walked in at that moment. The large table that was once in the room had been replaced by one half its size. It was set perfectly with a nice, dark table cloth, a few flowers with candles on either side of its center. For dinner, they were having salads and a nice, fancy ham - one Cremia cooked, but Romani was taking credit for.

The rest of the room was decorated with lots of candles and other, random knick knacks the children thought were pretty. They'd dimmed the lights and now the once rickety room in the ancient house looked absolutely enchanting.

Romani turned away from what she hoped would make her sister proud to give Link a pat on the shoulder. "Well, Grasshopper, the only thing that's missing now is the lovecuccos themselves. Cremia said Romani could help her get ready, so you can go help Cucco Boy. There are some things for him in the barn."

All Link had to do was nod before the farm girl went racing upstairs to find her older sister. She spotted Cremia standing in front of the mirror, combing her long, fiery, red hair. "Hi, Romani."

The smaller girl stared at her skeptically. "Hi." She waited for Cremia to say more, but, when she didn't, Romani added, "Why aren't you almost ready?"

Cremia took on a look of surprise, turning away from the mirror, her eyes wide. "I _am _ready."

Romani, subtle as ever, blurted, "You're going on a date dressed like _that?_"

"What's wrong with it?"

"Oh, I don't know, just _everything. _You're dressed like you're going to go milk cows or play in the mud, your hair looks _normal, _and do you even _know _what the world 'flirty' means?"

"The question is, do _you?_"

Romani rolled her eyes. "All I'm saying is that it wouldn't hurt for you to act a little girlier. You want Grog to think you're in love with him, don't you?"

"No, actually, I don't," Cremia responded. "I told you this was a one time thing. I _don't _want Grog to think I'm in love with him, because I'm not. You'll understand when you get older."

Romani's tiny hands clenched into fists at her sides and her face suddenly went a dark shade of red. "I'm not just a child, you know!" she shouted. "Romani knows a lot more than you think! She knows you like Kafei and she knows Cucco Boy likes you! She knows They are coming for our cows and she knows there has to be a reason why Grasshopper doesn't talk very much! I, I mean Romani . . . knows a lot more than you think she does and she's not a little girl who will 'understand someday.' She's a grown up, too! So, sit your butt down on your bed and let her give you a makeover!"

Cremia was beyond taken aback. She'd never, ever heard her little sister raise her voice like that. And she'd definitely never heard her give orders to anyone other than Link. Normally, the older girl would've been ticked off, or even worried, if she'd heard her sister say such things. But she wasn't worried or angry at all. She was humbled, in a way.

Taking a seat on her bed, Cremia smiled softly. "All right. Let's get me looking 'flirty,' or something like that."

Romani's face lit up and she raced over to the closet to find her sister something jaw dropping to wear.

* * *

"So, do you remember everything Romani told you?"

_Um . . . _She had to think fast. "Stand up straight, allow him to be a gentleman, keep the conversation going, and . . . um . . ."

Romani sighed. "You're hopeless. You didn't even remember half the things Romani said!" She shook her head at the lost cause before the two of them could reach the bottom of the stairs. "If you need Romani or Grasshopper's help, just tap your fork on your plate and we'll come. Oh, and don't forget to have fun." She smiled, hugging her older sister tightly.

"Thank you, Romani, for everything." Cremia wasn't quite sure _how_ to express how much she loved the little girl in her arms. She had no clue where she'd be without Romani, though, and she prayed the child understood that. "I love you."

"I love you, too, you big softie. Now, go. Enjoy your date." She watched as her role model headed down the steps, on her way to a date that Romani and Grasshopper had set up, on her way to falling in love with someone who wasn't quite a prince, but a nice guy nonetheless. The younger girl, feeling a bit like a proud parent, figured she should be crying right then, but she really wasn't all that emotional, so she settled for grinning instead. "They grow up so fast."

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**Thanks for reading! ;) The next chapter should be the last one. *excited***


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